London has been battered by 50mph winds that have felled trees and caused travel chaos. Powerful gusts swept across the capital as the Met Office issued a yellow "be aware" weather alert for most of the country.

Chief scout Graham Carr is to stay at Newcastle after being reassured over his role under new director of football Joe Kinnear.

Press Association Sport understands the highly regarded talent spotter has agreed to remain in his post after being given the go-ahead to continue his work to identify the players to take the club forward after a week of uncertainty on Tyneside.

The futures of both Carr and manager Alan Pardew were thrown into doubt at the weekend when it emerged that Magpies owner Mike Ashley had installed 66-year-old Kinnear above their heads in a bid to address last season's failings.

However, Pardew eventually signalled his intention to fight on and now Carr has followed suit - for the time being at least - after holding talks with Ashley.

The news emerged on the same day as a report which suggested the two men had been at odds for some time over recent signings and future targets. Newcastle were not commenting on the matter on Friday as they attempted to restore calm after a turbulent few days.

Charged with the task of finding emerging talent and competitive prices, the vastly experienced Carr has scoured the European market to allow Newcastle to snap up the likes of Hatem Ben Arfa, Cheick Tiote and Yohan Cabaye at knock-down prices.

All three have been linked with big-money moves away from Tyneside since their arrival, although last season's difficulties have seen their prospective valuations diminish somewhat.

Carr's success saw him rewarded with an eight-year contract last summer, three months before Pardew's future was similarly secured.

However, Kinnear's controversial appointment has established a new tier of management above Carr and Pardew, and the resignation of managing director Derek Llambias has taken away a key element of the team which conducted the club's transfer business.

The three men now face the task of joining forces to identify targets, negotiate deals and assimilate signings into a squad which drastically under-performed last season.